Still reeling from Las Vegas shooting, country music gathers in Nashville to heal

Roughly 120 people from Nashville’s country music community were on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas Oct. 1 when a gunman opened fire on the crowd during Jason Aldean's headlining set, according to an industry estimate. 

As they returned home, the music industry rallied around the artists, crew members and executives who survived the largest mass shooting in modern United States history, which left 58 dead and over 600 wounded. The Nashville contingent escaped the gunfire physically unscathed, which Tatum Hauck Allsep, executive director of the Music Health Alliance, calls a miracle.

But the emotional toll on Nashville’s survivors has been immense. In the ensuing weeks, there has been a massive need for trauma therapy, Allsep said. As the shooting unfolded, husbands texted wives what they believed were their parting words of love. Crew members saw carnage typically only witnessed by soldiers on the battlefield.

The response from Music Row has been substantial. Music and health care nonprofit groups have combined their resources. Counseling centers provided trauma therapists. For those who could not pay or whose insurance doesn’t include therapy, money was raised to cover the bills.

Now, as country music prepares for its biggest night – this week’s CMA Awards – the shooting has also presented a more existential challenge – one with which Music Row is still grappling. Country music has mastered the art of selling fans a good time. But the Las Vegas massacre has left a dark cloud over the parking lot party atmosphere.

It's a good bet that the nationally televised show, hosted by country superstars Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, will include a tribute to those killed and injured in Las Vegas.

CMA chief executive Sarah Trahern said the show, while upbeat, will contain "several poignant and memorable moments for us to reflect on the past year.” 

“Even though a month has passed, the shock of the tragedy in Vegas is still top of mind in our community," Trahern said. "What many of our colleagues and fans experienced will long be remembered together as we try to understand and heal.”

Pulling together 

Shockwaves from the shooting continue to reverberate across the industry. 

Singer Justin Moore, for instance, hired a security guard for the first time in his career.

"It definitely feels different," he said. "I told (my wife) for the last couple of years that it concerned me that we were sitting ducks on stage. If somebody were to have ill intentions, it wouldn't be that difficult. It sickens me that it came true, and not only did that come true, but it came true for the audience." 

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The country genre is unique in that with its own trade associations and its own award shows, it has become its own community. When members of that community are endangered, the family instinctively pulls tighter, said artist manager Martha Earls with EFG Management.

"There was no one in the country community who was not directly or indirectly impacted by the shooting in Vegas," she said. "I also believe that strong bond of community is what will help us collectively heal from this tragedy and move forward even stronger.”

‘I feel guilty it has bothered me so much’

Veronica Marmolejo works in the Nashville music industry handling corporate sponsorships and VIP packages for companies that underwrite tours. She was in Las Vegas for a convention and decided to check out the Route 91 Harvest festival on Saturday, Sept. 30 and again on Sunday, Oct. 1.

She and a friend were waiting near the front of the concert, which hosted about 20,000 people, for backstage passes they had been promised, just as Jason Aldean and his band took the stage.

When their contact emerged with just one pass, Marmolejo, who was already tired, took it as a sign she should call it a night. She told her friend to take the pass and asked a security guard if she could exit from the backstage area.

“Because he did, it put me right outside the gate when the shooting started,” Marmolejo said. 

Marmolejo was facing the hotel where gunman Stephen Paddock, in a corner suite on the 32nd floor, opened fire, spraying rounds at the crowd below.

“I hid behind a transformer and the officer was telling us to run, but I kept yelling, ‘Where? We don’t know where the shots are coming from,’” she told the Tennessean.

Marmolejo actually stayed in Las Vegas for work in the days that followed, and, though she briefly visited with a therapist made available at the hotel, she otherwise has not yet sought out help.

“It’s like you feel guilty that it is bothering you so much, because you weren’t hurt,” she said. “You know I wasn’t shot. I wasn’t injured and so many other people were.”

Therapists provided to help with emotional trauma

In the days that followed the shooting, Nashville nonprofit groups rallied together. MusiCares, Musicians On Call, the Music Health Alliance, and Porter’s Call were among the groups that offered therapy or support for those affected.

"I can't recall that we've ever had to play music for people in the hospital who were in the hospital for something related to music," said Musicians On Call President Pete Griffin. The group took Nashville musicians including Michael Ray to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center near Las Vegas to play for shooting victims and hospital staff.

"That was a weird dynamic because the last time these folks heard music, they were being shot at," Griffin said. "The next time they heard music was when we brought musicians in from Nashville to try and make them feel some love."

BMI hosted a gathering just a few days after the shooting that included a panel of specialists for those impacted. BMI executive Jody Williams said the goal was to immediately provide resources, especially therapy to whoever needed it.

“They didn’t want to wait two weeks to do it. They wanted to go ahead and show the community their support,” Williams said. “We opened our doors and set up some chairs. We didn’t know how many people to expect, but we had about 130 people show up – some people were fans, some of Jason Aldean’s crew and band were there, which was awesome.”

Allsep, leader of the Music Health Alliance, said the shooting impacted more than just those who were in attendance. Spouses have had an especially difficult time as their partners have returned to the road as artists continued their tours, Allsep said.

High Valley's Curtis Rempel said his wife Miranda always worried when he left home to play shows, but now her fears have been amplified. High Valley played Route 91 Harvest before the shooting.

"It will take a long time for her," he said.  "Now, she thinks about it all the time."

Allsep's concern is that there still may be members of the music community struggling with the trauma, like Marmolejo, who have yet to seek help. Because of donations and therapists who have offered their services free of charge, paying the bills has not even been a question, Allsep said.

“We want to make sure we offer whatever help is needed to everyone who needs it,” Allsep said.

‘Country music family grows even tighter’

Ben Vaughn, president at Warner/Chappell Nashville, said the shooting has made an already closely knit country music community even closer.

“We are a family,” Vaughn said of Nashville’s music industry. “We are not a bunch of companies that compete with each other at no cost. We definitely compete, but at the end of the day we’re family. At the end of the day, everybody pulls together and it’s not even a question. They just do.”

And as the days have passed, the country music industry has returned to doing what it does best: making music.

"If you're going to be scared to go to a show because people get shot at shows, then you should be scared to go to church because people get shot in churches and you should definitely be scared to go to airports because people get shot in airports," said Brad Rempel, the other half of High Valley. 

Vaughn said he is already hearing music from Warner/Chappell writers inspired by the Las Vegas tragedy. It reminded him of the time after 9/11 when he was working with Alan Jackson and first heard his song “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”

“The writing community is touched by everything,” Vaughn said. “As some of the songs start coming out that have been written over the last few weeks that touched moments of this, it’s been amazing. That’s what happens. We do life together on Music Row.”

Marmolejo makes her living working at concerts and she wondered how difficult it would be to return to “work,” which are music venues across the country. Her first concert since the tragedy wasn’t for work, but to see her favorite band needtobreathe perform at Ryman Auditorium.

Marmolejo had debated whether to go. But music, she said, has served as a spiritual healer. She said she believes the country music community can help the nation process the Las Vegas shooting by simply continuing to put on concerts and create music, as it plans to do at Wednesday's award show.

“I honestly believe that music heals,” she said. “Music is love.”

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 or nrau@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau. Reach Cindy Watts at 615-664-2227 or ciwatts@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @CindyNWatts.

Were you affected by Las Vegas shooting?

If you need help following the Las Vegas shooting with therapy or other needs, please contact the Music Health Alliance at 615-200-6896 or the Grammy’s MusiCares program at 615-327-0050.